elementary trailer brake wiring question...

[Forrest Nearing]

I just bought a '97 2500. The previous owner had a brake controller hooked up at one point. there are some mounting holes in the dash. I've looked for the "blue connector" wiring harness... I think I found where that plug used to be attatched... I've got four wires that are the same gauge and make. colors are: black, white, red, and blue. I looked on tekonsha's website, and their wiring instructions show four wires of the same colors. I'm assuming I just wire the controller directly to those wires?



TIA,



Forrest

 

[nfox]

Trailer Wiring

Those should be your wires, i would check to see if the black wire has 12v when the key is on and the white will be ground and the blue will be to your trailer brakes and red will send a signal to your brake controler to activate the trailer brakes.

 

[klenger]

The colors almost never match up. Check carefully.

 

[Forrest Nearing]

thanks guys, I will voltage test everything. I looked under the rear of the truck, and there's a blue wire of the same gauge/make that hooks up to the 7 pin connector back there, but yes, I will definately voltage test the wires before connecting!



Forrest

 

[Thomas]

"The colors almost never match up. Check carefully. "



klenger's advice is worth repeating.



Here's how things match up on my mdel year 2000 factory tow package/Tekonsha Sentinal install:



Function---Factory Harness---Controller



Stoplight Switch----White/tan---Red

+12 volts---Red/Blue---Black

Ground---Black---White

Brakes---Light Blue---Blue



I have no idea how the colors match up on 1997 Rams.

 

[Forrest Nearing]

well, like I said, this thing had a controller in it before... these could very well be aftermarket wires. but I think the resounding answer is "test the wires"



Forrest

 

[HBarlow]

Forrest:



From memory... ... .



one wire in the bundle, possibly the black wire, should provide constant 12 volts. It is not usually switched by the ignition. It should be connected to the power-in lead of a future controller, probably a black wire.



Another wire should read 12 volts only when the brake pedal is depressed. This will be connected to the red wire of your controller.



Another wire should be white and should be the ground. You should be able to read continuity from that wire to a body ground source. It will be connected to the white wire of your controller.



Another wire, probably the blue one, is trailer brake output to the seven pin connector at the rear of your truck. It will not show voltage present. It should be connected to the controller's blue wire.



Harvey

 

[wyosteve]

A related question. Do all controllers use the same color wires for the same functions? My controller died and I want to install a new one. If all controller wire colors are the same, I can just cut them off the old one and splice the new ones in without worrying about what the factory wires relate to.

 

[Forrest Nearing]

seems to be pretty much an industry standard, but to be extra safe, you might buy a controller made by the same company.



Forrest

 

[RustyJC]

The pigtails supplied by Dodge and the aftermarket should have the individual wire functions marked on each wire either with paper tags or on the wire itself. Ditto the controller. It doesn't matter whose controller a person buys - if one doesn't match function to function (NOT color to color) when wiring a controller to the pigtail, one WILL have problems.



Rusty